Browsed by
Tag: north america

Ghost Towns, Critters and Free Camping in Mississippi

Ghost Towns, Critters and Free Camping in Mississippi

Finding a great campground to split up a long drive can be a relaxing and cheap way to get some rest and see a bit of local nature and history. Between Hot Springs, Arkansas and New Orleans we were looking for such a stop and freecampsites.net pulled through again with another great free camping spot. We made the Rocky Springs Campground on the Old Natchez Trace in Mississippi home for the night. One of three “primitive” campgrounds on the Natchez Trace…

Read More Read More

First National Park of the Road Trip : Hot Springs, Arkansas

First National Park of the Road Trip : Hot Springs, Arkansas

Our time in Hot Springs, Arkansas began like much of the trip thus far. Torrential rains, black skies, angry clouds, and flash flood warnings. I won’t go into too much detail for fear this blog is starting to sound more like a weather report than a travel story, but it is rather unnerving to have your phone blaring emergency alerts at you every few hours. We were able to snag one of the last four sites available at Gulpha Gorge,…

Read More Read More

Floods, Family, and Fossils in Arkansas

Floods, Family, and Fossils in Arkansas

By the time we arrived at my uncle and aunt’s house in Arkansas the skies had cleared to a very welcome blue. The hot sunshine and cool sharp wind made it hard to decide between shorts or puffy coats. Stan had acquired a funky odor so we opened all the doors in an attempt to dry him out while we caught up with the fam. My uncle suggested that we go to Roaring River State Park. This is where we had…

Read More Read More

Making the Best of Bad Weather

Making the Best of Bad Weather

When You Wander weather is a factor that you cannot control. You can however, make the best of it. After leaving the Mark Twain National Forest our planned destination was Roaring River State Park in Southern Missouri. If you’re a nomad or just traveling through the Midwest and don’t want to break the bank on lodging, Missouri state parks start at $13 for tent sites—a steal compared to many RV and private campgrounds. Roaring River is located about 15 minutes…

Read More Read More

Free Camping Adventures in the Mark Twain National Forest

Free Camping Adventures in the Mark Twain National Forest

This post about our camping adventure in the Mark Twain National Forest contains a little something for everyone: a helicopter, the 8 Preachers of Berryman Trail, foraging for food, sheriff’s deputies, local trackers, ax restoration, and lost hikers. No, this isn’t a plot line for a Walt Longmire Mystery. It’s just another day When You Wander with Tom and Liana. Mark Twain National Forest After leaving a rainy Hannibal, Missouri, we headed further south past St. Louis to the Mark Twain…

Read More Read More

Hesitation and History in Hannibal

Hesitation and History in Hannibal

Before we get into our Hannibal, MO wanderings, I should say that we were feeling rather unprepared for our departure. Stan was all packed, but we’d never gotten around to a test trip and the blog (yes this blog) was nowhere near ready. We thought about delaying the trip another day to get the blog launched, but worried that one day would become two, which would lead to another week, and before you know it we really would be just…

Read More Read More

Hitting the Road with Stan the Tan Van

Hitting the Road with Stan the Tan Van

Greetings from the Great Midwest! We’re officially van dwellers. After arriving in Hannibal, Missouri Monday afternoon we’ve already visited the home of Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain), played a round of 18-hole disc golf, survived a pretty intense thunderstorm, and set-up our office in the campground shelter. So you could say we’re making ourselves right at home. We’ll be sharing a separate post about Hannibal and our wanderings thus far, but we want to take a moment to talk about…

Read More Read More